Is It A Debt Consolidation Scam? Native American Indian Style

Debt Consolidation Scam or Legit Business?

It seems the Indian Wars are from over. MHA Nation of North Dakota has declared a debt war on the American consumer – they are doing it from Fargo and Bismarck, North Dakota through a tribally-owned business and they seem to be winning. You must be asking yourself if this a joke? We want to know – is it a debt consolidation scam? The MHA Nation is not your everyday struggling Native American tribe. They have collected well over $1 billion in oil revenue since 2008.

Have you ever received a piece of direct mail telling you that you have been pre-qualified for a $35,000 loan at 3% to 6% interest rate? If your credit is lousy and you can find your mailbox, my guess is yes. You think it may be a debt consolidation scam but how can you be sure? You call up an 800 number and you are told after a few conversations that you “won’t qualify for a loan but you will referred to an outside attorney who can settle your debts – for an extra fee of course. You are confused. You need cash but you don’t know what to do. It’s a situation many Americans find themselves in today. In this low interest rate environment with online lenders clawing for market share, you can’t help feel like they will lend money to almost anyone, even if your credit is in the toilet.

Since around 2013, MEC Distribution, a North Dakota entity that lists its Country of Origin as Affiliated Tribes, has operated at least 14 websites that have engaged in this type of business model. On their annual report filed with the North Dakota Secretary of State, they list their business activity as “financial consulting and marketing services.” Now we don’t know exactly what’s going on over there, but when there is smoke, there is usually fire. It is possible that the tribal council are great guys and they got into business with the wrong kind of people. We don’t have all the facts yet.